Would America Fall In Love With A Single Mom As “The Bachelorette”?
Posted by: Amelia McDonell-Parry
Filed in:
news
1:00PM, Tuesday February 17th 2009
“The Bachelor” is about to wrap up its 13th season (or the 16th, if you include the four seasons of “The Bachelorette”), but hasn’t really been the subject of water cooler talk for years. It’s been enough of a success for ABC that they’ve kept it around this long, but studio execs finally struck oil again this season, by electing to feature Jason Mesnick as the man 25 women wanted to meet and marry. The show has seen a ratings surge of 37% above its last season (featuring my personal fave, The British Bach), and the network is already getting ready to do a casting call for a 14th season, after the fifth “Bachelorette” airs this summer. But can they recreate the success of this season? Only if they find another sexy single dad! It’s no coincidence that “The Bachelor” is suddenly the show to watch when the man in question is raising an adorable son on his own. After all, women LOVE a hot dad, especially a dad who has to shoulder the burden of parenthood all by his lonesome. All 25 women were eager to become insta-Step Mommies to Mesnick’s son—though most of them seem ill-equipped for the job. So what would happen if ABC tried the same approach with “The Bachelorette,” and found a (hot, always) single mom as its catch? Would 25 would be suitors come running, ready to be Insta-Step Daddies? Somehow I doubt it.
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Jamie Lee
wrote on February 17 2009 @ 01:12 pm: [report]
as an expert on both the bachelor/ette and being a single parent here is my opinion…
i think the ratings would probably be good for a single mom bachelorette, and that a bunch of guys who are all talk would sign up and pledge their undying love for the woman and her kid…but after the final rose ceremony, it would crash and burn. i mean, obviously the whole concept of meeting and falling in love on a tv show like that is as far from reality as you can get, and then if you throw children into the mix, its just even worse…i’m glad that jason hasn’t really exploited his son too much as far as having him have a lot of airtime etc…hopefully that is the case
the best people for single moms to date, in my opinion, is other full time single dads…scheduling can be difficult sometimes, but i have dated single guys before and i could tell right away that they were all talk, so they were never allowed around my kids and the relationship never really had a chance…
so maybe i should produce a single moms and single dads dating show…TLC here I come…
vanya
wrote on February 17 2009 @ 01:15 pm: [report]
My guess is that the next sexy single dad they find will be raising a very young daughter on his own. The bachelorettes are sure to go ape over the cuteness factor of a daddy with his little princess.
crazyincarolina
wrote on February 17 2009 @ 02:00 pm: [report]
Saw once “Single dads = hot, Single moms = not”...don’t like it much, but since my ex has women hurling themselves at him on a regular basis and I have yet to have a man hurl, throw, or even toss himself at me, I am starting to think it true.
Ultraviolet
wrote on February 17 2009 @ 02:10 pm: [report]
@ Jamie Lee. Yes, please! Produce that show!! I totally agree with your assessment of a single mom bachelorette show. I think guys like the idea of being a little family unit (and some of them have fantasies that they would be rescuing you from your “single mom situation” ha ha ha) and when the actual reality sinks in (ie no impromptu drinks/trips etc) it’s not quite so appealing anymore. I’m not saying all are like this and I’m still hopeful that I’ll find the right one but if not, my world and my son’s world is not going to end.
eden
wrote on February 17 2009 @ 03:30 pm: [report]
My first thought was roughly, ‘holy #&@$%, that kid has massive hands!’
Reagan
wrote on February 18 2009 @ 08:45 am: [report]
“It’s no coincidence that “The Bachelor” is suddenly the show to watch when the man in question is raising an adorable son on his own.”
I don’t know the answer to this because I don’t follow the show closely enough…but are we certain that Jason has sole custody of his son? I heard his ex wife Hillary starred in a Seattle music video for a band called Out From Underneath. That being said, if she lives in Seattle (the same city as the Bachelor) then how do we know that she doesn’t also help raise the son? Not that it really matters, I guess. I see the appeal of a handsome guy who is very hands-on with his cute son and all…but I was just curious if we knew for sure that he’s the only provider/caretaker.
Anyways, what I find interesting about this show is that the (almost) 32-year-old Bachelor has narrowed his field down to two of the youngest contestants on the show. One of them is 24 and one is 25, right? Now, I know that age is relative and a 6 or 7 year difference isn’t all that much but neither of the girls left have ever been married nor do they have children…which is not to say that one of them won’t make an excellent wife and step-mother…but still…the two youngest girls? Does he really have the most in common with them or are those the two he wants to sleep with the most? Just asking…
I happen to think he should have kept Jillian and/or Stephanie (the one with a child exactly his son’s age)...they made the most sense for him…at least, from an outside perpective. I understand the importance of chemistry and physical attraction but I have a hard time taking this show seriously when it *seems* like he’s only after one thing.
Jen2
wrote on February 18 2009 @ 08:59 am: [report]
I dont’ think it’s fair to the kids, I mean it’s one thing to put yourself on reality tv, but another thing to do that to your kid(s). Also what happens if the child gets attached to one of girls or boys, or more than one, it just can’t be healthy.
Jamie Lee
wrote on February 18 2009 @ 09:19 am: [report]
@ Reagan…
I am pretty sure that he has 50/50 (ish) custody with his ex wife. They just don’t say that in the show to make it seem like he is a true ‘single’ dad…
og217
wrote on February 18 2009 @ 09:55 am: [report]
They did do a show about single mothers on Lifetime, and I don’t think anyone watched it (I didn’t, but laughed really hard at the ads during Law & Order). There were 3 tubby women with hound-dog facial expressions and woe-is-me divorce tales professing that their chidren (plural) were their life, and all they cared about, bla bla bla. A few deer-in-the-headlights aspiring male actors were rounded up to “court” these women. The ads were awful and it was taken off the air ASAP.
Other than the fame factor, I don’t think anyone is interested in dating single parents, and certainly not those with custody or living close to the child. Maybe other single parents, but I can’t imagine why anyone else would want to be bothered. I mean, cute is great, for like an hour but then it’s just a nuisance to have to do kid activities and care taking and baby mama drama.
og217
wrote on February 18 2009 @ 10:00 am: [report]
I just had an idea - maybe the reason this show was more successful than the singly-mommy show was precisely because no one believes that this guy is truly a single parent. That way, it can still be a fairy tale romance, dates, vacations without incessant kiddie blather from some other woman’s child, interspersed with “Where is my mommy?”
This way, you get a little cuteness from the kid without ruining the “grandiose romance” - you know, candle-lit dinners and walks on the beach. That way, its sort of benign - like a nephew or a puppy - oh so cute, and not really a problem, only appearing on convenient holidays to creat a Kodak moment and then be off to wherever his mother is.